A pair of
Madie Edwards' goals punctuated the Upper Iowa women's soccer team played their most complete game of the season in a 2-1 victory over Fort Hays State on Saturday at Pattison Field. It was the first win of the season for UIU and improved the Peacocks record to 1-1-1, while Fort Hays fell to 1-3.
"A region win like this is huge," said head coach
Brian Diaz. "Fort Hays finished one spot above us in the region last year. They are a very good team and will pick up a lot of wins this year and do well in their conference. That's a huge win from a regional and national standpoint."
Neither team took control in the first half as the game was tied 0-0 after the first 45 minutes. Upper Iowa took five shots, placing just one on frame, while Fort Hays State had four shots with two on net. The only true goal scoring opportunity from the opening period came on a long Tiger shot that hit the crossbar.
The Peacocks were the aggressor early in the second half, controlling the pace of play. UIU broke the scoreless tie 20 minutes into the latter period when senior
Nicole Poirier played a perfect through ball over the head of the Tiger defense. Edwards ran onto to the ball in the box and finished to the lower right corner, beating the FHSU goalkeeper.
Fifteen minutes later, Edwards struck again. This time, sophomore
Gina Britton found Edwards at the top of the box and the 2014 All-Region midfielder snuck a shot through the Fort Hays State defense and into the corner of the net.
"Madie is a good player, no doubt," said Diaz. "But the beauty of it is that they were both team goals. Nicole's ball was beautiful and Gina's flick was great. Without those two, those goals don't happen."
The Peacock defense, which Diaz called exceptional all day long, stood tall as the Tigers brought a flurry of chances in the final minutes. FHSU scored with 52 seconds left in the game, but couldn't muster another scoring opportunity and UIU closed out the 2-1 victory.
UIU opens the conference schedule on Monday against Winona State at home at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KCRG 9.2.
